Paulo Coelho Compares Writing to Making Love

Paulo Coelho’s newest book, “Aleph,” has hit bestseller lists around the world within days or weeks of publication. The Brazilian author is used to occupying a bestseller spot with his record-breaking, earlier book, “The Alchemist.” But the immediate popularity of “Aleph” still surprises him.

“I should be okay, this is not my first book, not even my tenth book,” Coelho told Speakeasy by phone from his home in Geneva. “But I’m so enthusiastic about my work that I keep this child alive.”

“Aleph” tells the story of a man’s quest for peace with his past, which takes him on the Trans-Siberian Railway with a stranger, a young woman named Hilal. As the journey progresses, he discovers he may have more in common with Hilal than he first expects, and she may hold the key to his spiritual growth.

The book is “100%” autobiographical, Coelho said, and is based on a trip he took on the Trans-Siberian Railway in 2006. “I didn’t put everything there, but everything that is there is real,” he said. “In the case of ‘Aleph,’ I felt the obligation to talk. What I mean by obligation is, writing a book is also putting in my conscious mind what I experienced. Sometimes it’s very unconscious. But when you write, you understand better yourself.”

Coelho, who divides his time between Brazil and Switzerland, said he didn’t write the book while on the trip. In fact, he said he finds taking notes to be “totally useless” because he realizes his experiences are far richer than what he writes about them at the time.

“If I’m thinking about writing, I’ll be an observer and not the person who’s living the experience,” Coelho explained. “I was there 100%. The book was only ready in my mind in 2010.” As he wrote the book, he was reliving the experience and trying to capture the emotional state precisely in words.

The book’s theme of travel carries deeper spiritual meanings for Coelho, who believes people are generally on the defensive with one another. “Traveling is very helpful in the sense that you’re not surrounded by familiar things,” he said. “Then you have to be more open otherwise you will never survive. In fact we travel, we do a pilgrimage, every day, from our home to our work and back.” After he finished “Aleph,” Coelho decided to perform experiments to provoke people and push them out of their comfort zone. In various cities he visited, he tried talking to strangers in the confined space of an elevator. Some thought he was “totally mad,” while others took him up on the conversation. He found that people in Madrid were generally open to talking. Same with people in New York. But in Geneva, people were much less interested.

Now that “Aleph” is out in the world, Coelho spends four to five hours a day connecting with his readers online with social-networking sites. He has nearly 6.7 million fans on Facebook and 2.45 million followers on Twitter. He holds a Twitcam session every now and then, and often answers his readers’ Tweets and comments. “After the book’s release, to talk to readers about what I wrote is magical,” he said.

But it’s a completely different story when he’s writing. Once every two years, Coelho writes for ten hours a day, for 15 days, until the book is completed. When he’s done, he feels exhausted and empty. He likens the writing experience to sex.

“When you’re making love, you’re not there at the very beginning, you’re a little bit shy,” he said. “And then you’ll say, how am I going to perform? And then all of a sudden you are totally there. Your body and your soul. So, if it is only your body, it’s half of the pleasure, or less than that. So you’re totally there. Writing is like making love to computer.”